Observations
by laurzz
Summary: DannyLindsay. Post-ep for 7x14 "Is it any wonder?" Mac implored. "I'm the god-father to their daughter; it'd be a very poor do if I didn't have quite the soft spot for them and their daughter."


**A/N: Hi guys. Wow, it's been a hectic week for me! I don't think I have stopped - hence the lack of updates, so sorry about that! :( But in slightly better news, I'm an outstanding teacher - no really, I am! My school that I am teaching in sent my interim report to my university and basically graded me with 1's - for outstanding... and to top that good news off, I have a week off school! YAY! So hopefully lots of time for Danny Lindsay writing, fingers crossed at least!**

**Episode thoughts? Not bad. Little gutted that Ne-Yo was a hit-man... how I didn't know he was a hit-man, I don't know considering I've just googled the episode title and that's all that it came up with...clearly that says how busy I've been - I don't have a clue what's going on anymore! haha. Slightly different take again this week... I had nothing and was going to do a flash-back for the post-ep until well... until the last scene, so we've taken that and kind of done the DL post-ep through the eyes of others... anyone guessed yet? haha!**

**And Hawkes and his new girl? I like the fact that it wasn't shoved in my face at the end, because I would have cringed... however, we see them out to dinner and shit will hit the fan because as of right now that is ALLL I want to see for DL... so if Hawkes and his new bird gets that Laurzz will NOT, I repeat NOT be happy. **

**Anyway... enough of me babbling this week. Huge thank you to every-one who reviewed last week's - your comments were lovely and I really appreciate all of you! So, special mention and huggles to**: webdlfan, Sweet LIL Loz, brendanakai, Jennifer32485, Aveo amacus, FoxPhile, csimesser1, saderia, afrozenheart412, MesserFamilyFan100, 18lzytwner **and last but definitely not least** - messermonroeforever125. **Thanks guys! :) **

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_Post-ep oneshot, season 7, episode 14: Smooth Criminal _

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Rounding the corner as he exited his office, Mac Taylor let out a sigh. Jo Danville was going to be the death of him. Steamy sex? That was an image that he hadn't needed; especially of one of his employees. It was enough to see the display of affection right in front of him; but going beyond that and into Sheldon's personal life – no, no thanks. He shuddered to himself.

Hearing the footsteps behind him, he let out a sigh as he turned and glanced over his shoulder. "Yes?"

"You never answered my question." Jo pointed out to him. "Do you not ever people watch?"

Inwardly sighing, Mac weighed up his options. Jo somehow knew him inside and out already; something which actually unnerved him to no end. So it was possible that if he was to lie to her, she'd pull him up on it straight away. But also, if he told her the truth, he knew for a fact she'd be gloating for a good week about being right. She wouldn't say it out-right, but given the opportunity, she'd grin and make a point.

"On occasion," he admitted finally.

"See, I have it on good authority that people watching is one of your chosen past times."

"Good authority." Mac scoffed. "And from who, dare I ask?" He inquired as they made their way down the hall with one another.

"I reveal no names, Detective Taylor." She teased.

"This leads me to believe you've just made a guess what, luckily for you, has a certain air of truth to it."

"So you do people watch?" Jo surmised.

"On occasion," he repeated.

They made their way into Trace, collecting all the finalised documentation for the case, and making a point of thanking each employee as they proudly passed them their work and research that accompanied the arrests to the case.

"Who is your favourite person to watch?" Jo asked, clearly not letting up on the conversation.

"Jo," Mac sighed.

"We've worked together long enough now for you to know that this isn't going away. Come on Mac, who is your favourite subject when you people watch?"

Sighing heavily, Mac turned and pointed in the direction of a dimly lit office.

Craning her neck over to Mac so she could see more clearly, she let out a small laugh. "Your protégés?"

"I wouldn't call them my protégés." Mac shook his head. "Just... my employees."

"You paused," Jo observed. "You think a lot more of them than just your employees."

"Jo," Mac sighed, continuing their documentation collection around the lab. "Let's discuss something else."

Pursing her lips together, Jo shook her head. "You have quite the soft spot for them, don't you?"

"Is it any wonder?" Mac implored. "I'm the god-father to their daughter; it'd be a very poor do if I didn't have quite the soft spot for them and their daughter."

"Aha!" Jo cried. "I've cracked into the surface a little," she teased. "So you'd say they're your favourite to people-watch."

Relenting, Mac sighed. "You could say that."

"Why?" Jo smirked as Mac was approached and asked to sign a document.

"You just don't give up, do you?" he implored.

"In a word, no. Ask Tyler..."

Mac turned to face the office of Danny and Lindsay and let out a small sigh. "It's out of pride more times than not. You have to... in fact, we'll go somewhere a bit more private; I've realised I'm not going to win and I don't think it's appropriate to have this conversation where just anyone can hear."

Noticing that Ballistics was free from any prying eyes or ears, Mac gestured for Jo to head in before him. She smirked proudly as she positioned herself where she could still see Danny and Lindsay's dimly lit office as Mac spoke.

"You were saying," she prompted him to continue.

"Alright," he sighed. "Now Danny has been under my wing for longer than I can remember now... He was a real loose cannon when he first came to me, and there were times where I wondered whether I had made a mistake with him... you know, hiring him?"

"Really?" Jo asked with raised brows.

"Don't act surprised," Mac countered. "You've seen files; despite the fact that they clearly say private on the front."

"Well... I..."

"I know, we're past that stage now." Mac quickly cleared the air. "And we're all clearly on the same page now... so there are no secrets; well on our part anyway." Mac teased.

"So Danny was a loose cannon then." Jo nudged the conversation back out of uncomfortable waters.

"Note the use of was," Mac commented. "I saw something in him the second he met Lindsay. Montana he called her on his first day. I actually pulled him into my office on her first day telling him that they had to work together, so he needed to lay off."

"Did he?"

"What do you think?" Mac implored. "if anything, he did it more. So that there told me I had to watch him to make sure he didn't send Lindsay running for the door... but on her first day, we'd had to go to the meat packing district for one thing or another, and there was a sample we needed and I was about to send Danny out to the truck to get what we needed, and our Lindsay just whipped out this pocket knife and hacked into the meat. I think Danny stopped breathing for a second or two as he realised he'd quite possibly met his match."

"And all that was on her first day?"

"Oh there's more." Mac chuckled. "We could talk about Lindsay's first day for a good hour I think. She's one of a kind."

"So no second thoughts when you hired her then."

"Absolutely not." Mac shook his head.

"So Lindsay told me that he wound her up for a good while after she started; what was your take on it?"

"If I'm honest, I left them to it. I didn't want to hear, see or be involved in whatever _they_ were turning into. I just wanted them to do their jobs and they were... so I couldn't ask for anything else."

"So, when did you go from not wanting to see anything to sitting and watching them?"

Taking a seat on a stool sat by the layout table, Mac thought about his change of heart for a moment. "I think it was... hmm, I think it was when Lindsay had gone undercover for a case. She'd been made and Danny just flew out of the van, barrelled past me and shot up the stairs to the apartment without a second's thought. We were all running top speed, but Danny... it was a good job that SWAT filed in front of him, otherwise he'd have been in there within seconds and got himself shot."

"I don't blame you, feeling you needed to watch him after that."

"Actually, it wasn't because of that. It was more of what happened after he found her."

"Why, where was she?"

"On the floor... we'd given her a flash-bang grenade and she'd taken down the victim/suspect with her. Danny, he was searching in that apartment for her like nobody's business; I could just tell he was desperate, despite all that was going on around me. Basically, he found her, and he didn't let the girl go, granted she had moulded herself to him, but it was just surprising to see him so... so... obsessed with her. He was absolutely hell bent on making sure she was okay. He didn't leave her side for about an hour. I thought they were for sure going to bridge themselves from a working relationship to something else after that but what with the trial, it just didn't happen for them."

"But you still watched?"

"More so Lindsay; to make sure she was okay. Obviously I knew snippets of what had happened from her personal file, and she told me straight up when there was talks of a trial, because she knew she'd need the time off work... but then when she told me in front of Stella, I just took what she was telling me at face value, making it seem like I knew nothing. I felt it was best and I know that she felt better for me acting like I didn't know, and more specifically like it wasn't a big deal."

"So you were really her papa while she was away from Montana?"

"Her what?"

"Her Papa," Jo repeated. "Her father figure..."

"Oh," Mac nodded in realisation. "Well... I, I guess so."

"That's sweet." Jo tapped his cheek. "So there is a soft spot somewhere inside of you then."

"Somewhere," Mac agreed, the corners of his lips tugging into a smile. "But after the trial... but my watching happened more regularly when Lindsay fell pregnant."

"Oh Mac, that's overstepping a boundary there... invading personal space."

"That's disgusting," He lamented. "I meant _after_ she fell pregnant."

"I know," Jo smirked. "I was kidding, clearly we have to work on your sense of humour."

"My sense of humour is just fine thanks." Mac scoffed. "Do you want to hear this story you've dragged out of me, or can I get back to work now?"

"No, no, carry on." Jo laughed. "I'll hush myself."

Sighing, Mac continued. "They became a different couple after Lindsay fell pregnant. Things hadn't been easy for them and they'd had a few bumps, so Lucy coming along really helped them realise how right they were for one another. Danny had a entire work-up on the way he saw Lindsay and their relationship. He'd always been a little off hand, and was still a little bit of a loose cannon, but the second she told him she was pregnant, there was this like maturity in him. He was growing up... and it was lovely to see."

"You got all of that from people watching?" Jo asked, astounded. "You're like an expert."

"Just with these two," Mac shook his head. "And ever since then I've had the pleasure of watching them get married, have a baby... be that beautiful baby's godfather... and work on their very successful marriage together."

"What about when he got shot?" Jo asked.

"What about it?"

"What happened to them?"

"Lindsay was his rock." Mac shrugged. "Just like she always is; I don't think he would have gotten very far without her."

"Sign of a good marriage when you rely on the support of the other and they're always there for you... so Sheldon. Has he had many girlfriends?"

"Jo, do I look like a gossip?" Mac asked. "Do you really think that I am the type to just give you reams of information about my employee's personal lives?"

"I believe you just did," she smirked, nodding her head to Danny and Lindsay's office. "So Sheldon..."

"He's career driven," Mac sighed. "Maya was his last girlfriend and... well, that didn't end well. I won't say anything else on that, but it was a _very_ tough time for him."

"So this Camille, she'd be good for him?"

"Seems so, and from what you say she's 'into him'," Mac air quoted, with a smirk.

"He'll be asking for Friday night off next week," Jo smirked, "I bet you ten dollars."

"I'll change the schedule."

"I'll trade shifts with him." Jo smirked. "You won't win here."

"We'll see about that." Mac chuckled, still looking in the direction of Danny and Lindsay's office. "Why are they still here? They should be heading home. They've been here more than long enough."

"Go tell them to go away," Jo smiled. "I'll go and get all the other files we need to put together the trial."

"Sure?" Mac asked.

"Positive, see you in your office in five."

Nodding, Mac quickly strode off in the direction of Danny and Lindsay's office and sighed as he pushed through the door and saw two empty seats. They were usually quite good at making sure that lights and computers were switched off, but clearly it had slipped their minds.

He turned, ready to turn Lindsay's desk light off and stopped in his tracks. There on their leather couch they'd recently been given was the both of them, tangled together and fast asleep with Danny's jacket draped over them.

With his heart swelling with pride in his chest, Mac carefully took the coat's edges and removed the coat from them. He slung it over Lindsay's desk chair and then turned back to the sleeping couple. He hated to wake them when they both looked so comfortable, but he knew that their little girl was most definitely sat at home waiting for Mommy and Daddy's return from work. He placed a hand on Lindsay's arm and Danny's shoulder and shook the both of them gently.

Lindsay stirred first, her hands instantly moving to her face to rub her eyes, whereas Danny took a few more considerable shakes to even get him to stir.

"Mac?" Lindsay asked groggily, blinking a few times to make sure she was seeing correctly. "What... what are you doing here?"

"Better yet, what are you two still doing here?" He couldn't help but chuckle. "Some people have a beautiful little girl, waiting to tell them all about her day. Go home."

Sitting up, Lindsay brushed her hair down and quickly observed where she and her husband had found a makeshift bed. As realisation dawned, a blush washed over her cheeks and she straightened her attire and turned to Mac. "Mac, we're sorry... God, we were only laying down for two minutes to rest our eyes... I know how unprofessional this is, taking a nap and... oh God," she thumped Danny in the side. "Wake up!"

Stirring slowly, Danny let out a massive yawn before peeling on eye open. "Baby, what's the matt- shit! Mac... oh we're uh- we're sorry Mac... we didn't-"

"You two must be absolutely exhausted to willingly take a nap on this small thing."

"There just aren't enough hours in the day," Lindsay yawned. "We'll get back onto work now and get everything done for you before the end of our shifts, we promise Mac."

"You know what you two, it's fine... just go home and take the night, okay?"

"But Mac, our paperwork, it's not-"

"-going to disappear," Mac finished. "Take the night... go home and sleep okay? It's been a long week."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," Mac nodded.

They shared a look between them before smiling and then nodding towards Mac. "Thanks," Danny smiled warmly. "We appreciate it, Boss."

"Say hello to Lucy for me," Mac returned the warm smile as he stood and headed for the door. "I've got her a little something, but I'll give it to you guys tomorrow. It's nothing special... just something I saw that I thought she'd like."

"You spoil that girl rotten, Mac." Lindsay laughed, despite the exhaustion etched into her face. "But thanks, I'm sure she'll love it – whatever it is."

"I'll see you both tomorrow... eleven o'clock, okay?"

"Eleven? Mac, I'm on the early shift," Danny reminded him.

"Eleven." Mac told them both. "Take the morning."

"Mac..."

"Just do it." Mac smiled. "I'm sweetening you up for when I have to ask one of you to trade shifts with Hawkes."

"Why, what's up with Hawkes?" Danny asked.

"He may have a date sometime this week." Mac smirked. "But you didn't hear that from me."

"Got'cha," Danny chuckled. "Right, we'll see you tomorrow then Boss."

"Alright guys," Mac smiled turning on his heel. "Goodnight."

He turned quickly and made his way back to his office, joining Jo whom had just made her way into the office from the other door.

"You were in there a while," Jo commented. "Were they bitching at you for staring at them?"

"No," Mac smiled as he watched Danny lead an exhausted Lindsay to the elevator. "No, they were just... we were just talking; told them to take off and come back bright eyed and bushy tailed tomorrow."

"So they're off for steamy sex then?" Jo asked, biting her lip to stop the laugh.

"No, no I don't think so." Mac shook his head as he watched Lindsay yawn and lay her head on Danny's shoulder. "Not tonight at least."

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**And another post-ep done and dusted... hope you liked it guys... and I hope you don't mind me mixing them up a little like this one and last week's... I'm just trying to do a bit of variation for you guys because I realised that sometimes I do pretty similar stuff and don't want them to get boring if that makes sense? **

**Anyway - thanks for checking in and reading! :) *huggles***


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